[16][17], Tribune described the march as "the largest mass movement for racial justice on British soil at the time", but also noted that "journalists stationed in the offices of Fleet Street chanted monkey noises at the protestors down below. No one has ever been tried for starting the blaze, but between 1991 and 1993 police received confessions from a jailed killer who gave the name of a suspect, and said he himself was present when it began. They were known as the bullies in blue, says Leila Hassan Howe, who in 1981 was a member of the Race Today Collective in Brixton. How the Princess of Wales recreated her 2006 outfit from Prince William's Sandhurst graduation EPHRAIM HARDCASTLE: Prince William's potentially awkward visit to homelessness charity. In the immediate aftermath of the blaze, the police were accused of not properly investigating what happened while the government and Royal Family were silent on the issue without so much as a message of condolences to the families affected. Magdalene Edwards, now 57, survived the fire by jumping from a window while three months pregnant, but her 16-year-old stepsister Rosalind Henry (pictured) died. A 14th victim died in 1983. Smithyman, who was 14 at the time of the tragedy, reportedly told officers that he had tried to gatecrash the party with another teenager who began the blaze in revenge after they were refused entry. "He came in, got dressed, and kissed his mother and kissed me and said, 'I'll see you in the morning,'" said Mr Francis, a former British Rail worker and photographer who lives in Sydenham, south London. But forensic evidence then suggested it began inside the house. The Independent on Sunday has also learned that much of the blame will be directed at a group of adults who were at the party that night. [2] The coroner said that the fire was probably started deliberately by one of the guests, but as he could not be sure of this, he returned an open verdict.[10]. George Ruddock says: Yvonnes brother Paul ran in and shouted, Fire! I saw soot and debris in his hair. Police officers at the scene of the fire initially blamed the neo-fascist National Front. The next morning he received a telephone call telling him Gerry was dead. They created a campaign to memorialise the victims and conducted their own investigation which would take seriously the testimonies and experiential expertise of people on the ground. His aunt Armza Ruddock, the mother of Paul and Yvonne, described hearing a bang. 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[14] One slogan read: "Dame Jill Knight Set The Fire Alight! Already serving a life sentence for two murders, including that of his pregnant 22-year-old girlfriend April Sheridan, Smithyman gave a chilling account during 40 taped interviews of how the fire started. "We know it [the fire] was not an accident. The New Cross Fire tragedy highlighted hostility between black Britons, the police and the media. Protesters travelled from across England to attend the eight-hour march, which set off from Fordham Park in New Cross a short walk from the scene of the fire. Wayne Haynes, 58 - who suffered life-changing injuries in the tragedy including 140 skin grafts from first degree burns -spoke of his upset and disappointment about untrue theories over the horrific blaze. After being told of what Smithyman had claimed, she told the MoS: 'The case has never been investigated properly. ANTHONY, Fla. (WCJB) - The American Red Cross is assisting a family after their home caught fire in Anthony early on Wednesday morning. Film director Steve McQueen, who made a BBC documentary on the tragedy earlier this year, said the blaze and its aftermath were 'momentous events in our nation's history'. Joan Ruddock, Labour MP for Lewisham Deptford, has worked closely with the families and was responsible for securing a second police inquiry. True justice would look like 65 Black people, who were affected by the fire, being made multi millionaires by the Government where they havent received compensation, the 58-year-old said. CROSS-FIRE & SECURITY CO.,INC. Email or phone: Password: . Lovers rock tracks pumped from a sound system as revellers jostled. Its a sentiment shared by Hassan Howe. As a survivor, I feel triggered by these discussions and the furore around it is irritating because all its doing is upsetting a whole bunch of people - again, winding up the Black community - again, only for the matter to get dropped again, he continued. When the illness was first recorded in detail, it was called ignis sacer (or, "holy fire,") and according to Lapham's Quarterly, that first in-depth mention came way back in 994. But if it was a racist attack we wouldve known a long time ago. See Photos. Uprising connects three chapters in recent British history through powerful testimonials and archive footage: the New Cross fire and the Black Peoples Day of Action, when 20,000 people marched on central London to protest against the silence from the state. Racists like to boast about their accomplishments., The Black Peoples Day of Action demonstration (March 1981). Today, the New Cross Fire remains unsolved. But attempts to get a new inquest were twice rejected, until the High Court finally agreed to demands in 2002. Lindsay Birbeck (Image: Lancashire Police). Many black Britons believed that the National Front (NF), a fascist group, was responsible for those incidents as well as the New Cross Fire tragedy. The investigation and the inquiry was bungled. Anthony Bale is an English medievalist.. Lottery and the Arts Council to produce two anthologies of interpreters' stories and a play about a couple in a cross-language relationship, for the Soho Theatre, London. A small donation would help us keep this available to all. (link opens a new window) Support links. Many black Britons viewed those acts the states retaliation for the Black Peoples Day of Action demonstration. My specialities are: - UX and human-centred design - user research - content. The last memory Mr Francis has of his son, who was the DJ at the party, was kissing him goodbye on the Saturday night. The smoke was jet black. [2], A forensic science report produced for the Metropolitan Police in 2011 ruled out a firebomb attack, finding instead that the fire had started when somebody in the house set fire to a foam-filled armchair in the front room of the property at 5:40 am on Sunday morning. I remember the floor felt spongy and the heat was rising. I know this area although I am from the midlands and sympathise entirely but was unfamiliar with its history and significance thank you for the information. Despite repeated requests, bosses at Whitemoor prison refused to say whether they had passed on to Smithyman a request from The Mail on Sunday to interview him. RE: DEPTFORD FIRE CON Prince Andrew 'fears he won't be able to afford Royal Lodge if King Charles cuts his 250K grant - but is Can you solve this trivia riddle? No further information on the new partner, A M Harris, has been found) before, in January 1913, it became known as Procter and Birkbeck (T E Birkbeck having been with the firm since at least 1900). A lot of people refuse to do their research because they want to believe that a white person did it; how did the alleged white arsonist get past the doors and into the party?. Others have been very ill for a period of years.". It hits you again with full force. On Sunday, January 18, 1981, thirteen black youths attending a birthday party in Deptford, South London was killed in an alleged racially-motivated house fire. Yvonne loved soft, sweet girl music. Cordelia J Birkbeck. We wanted to make our voices heard, says Hassan Howe, the widow of the Trinidadian writer and racial justice campaigner Darcus Howe. "[15]; an apparent reference to a controversial speech by Dame Jill Knight, a right-wing member of the ruling Conservative Party, which was widely interpreted as condoning or even encouraging "direct action" against noisy parties. The parents of the fire victims delivered a petition to the Houses of Parliament but no action was taken. He died, aged 20 years, on 9 July 1983, after falling from the balcony of a block of council flats in South London. The second inquest has been an unprecedented opportunity for families, survivors and the police to try and provide answers to questions which have haunted them all for the past 23 years. Mr Haynes said: "I have been burnt from my fingers right up to the tops of my arms. The convicted killer, who now lives as a woman in prison, retracted the confessions and denies being present when the New Cross fire started. LinkedIn is the world's largest business network, helping professionals like Anthony Birbeck, MBE, FRSA discover inside connections to recommended job candidates, industry experts, and business partners. Find staff in Birkbeck's Department of Languages, Cultures and Applied Linguistics. There is also a memorial to the victims consisting of a park bench, plus 13 trees with a plaque at either end, on Hackney Downs in east London, and a memorial plaque on the wall of Catford Civic Hall listing the names of the "fourteen young people who died in the New Cross Fire of 18th January 1981". Meanwhile Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher failed to send condolences despite sending a similar letter to the Taoiseach following the Stardust nightclub fire in Dublin three weeks later. This year, the 40th anniversary of the blaze, campaigners say the story symbolises the police abuse and neglect by the state felt by many black people at the time. 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